Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Review: Cognition - An Erica Reed Thriller Episode One: The Hangman

In addition to maintaining The Trollish Delver, I also write for the monthly videogames magazine Thirteen1. The original review can be found in the latest issue.

Platform: PCDeveloper: Phoenix Online Studio Have
you managed to recover from taking in that behemoth of a title? From
now on, the game will be referred to as Cognition, just to save
everyone’s sanity and my fingers, but don’t let the lengthy name put you
off. This is indie studio Phoenix Online’s first commercial output,
having already worked on The Silver Lining, a spiritual successor to the
King’s Quest series; and it’s always refreshing to see a new studio
begin with an adventure title, which is something of a rarity these
days. But for a commercial debut, Cognition is a good effort that will
keep fans of classic adventure games happy and newcomers enthralled in
the story.

There’s
a reason why Cognition is such a strong game, as the story has had a
helping hand from adventure guru Jane Jensen. For a new studio, Phoenix
were massively lucky to have Jensen on board with the project and her
golden touch really shines through. But she’s not the only big gun the
developers have on their side, as the stunning artwork was done by none
other than Romano Molenaar, a comic book artist who has worked on big
titles like Hellboy, Spider-Man, The Darkness and Conan. Truly these are
some formidable allies to have on your game.

So
it’s only natural that Cognition has gone for a comic book inspired
visual style, with gorgeous 3D cell-shaded graphics layer on top of
beautiful background paintings. Speech boxes appear in conversation
using a comic style font, making it seem like you’re playing a motion
comic rather than a game. The visuals are incredibly effective and one
of the game’s strongest assets.

The
titular Erica Reed is an FBI agent based in Boston who begins the game
tracking down a mystery figure who has taken her brother, Scott. But she
ends up being too late, and becomes haunted by her brother’s death.
This may sound like generic crime fodder, but Erica has a secret of a
supernatural bent: she’s a post-cog - she can see images of past events
by studying the aura of objects. The thing is, it becomes apparent that
someone knows her secret and Erica must unravel what they want from her
and how they know. The whole prologue sets the tone for the game really
well, showing that we’re dealing with a mature game with a violent and
dark edge to it.

The
post cognition power, which is actually one of three powers that Erica
has, including projection and regression, presents an interesting game
mechanic that turns what could have been a run-of-the-mill detective
game into something more layered. All three powers are used effectively
in conjunction with puzzles, which are varied and sometimes complex, but
still exciting. These powers mean that you’re not just stuck doing
repetitive inventory-based puzzles, a pitfall that is so easy for an
adventure title to fall into. However, there are some instances where
the puzzles are bafflingly strange, such as having to break into Davies’
office as covertly as a rhino sneaking into a pub. Adventure veterans
may find most puzzles a little easy for their tastes, but they’re
challenging enough to keep you going.

This
premiere episode introduces a number of characters, most of which
currently lack much depth. John, the useless partner, likes donuts and
isn’t particularly helpful; Davies, Erica’s boss, is the typical brash
and shouty boss, and Terence is a gadget-adoring nerd who is all about
being a gadget-adoring nerd. Maybe future episodes with expand on these
characters to make them more three dimensional and, to put it bluntly,
interesting.

As
stated before, the art in Cognition is astounding. The expertly painted
backgrounds drip with dark atmosphere, with creepy shadows, detailed
textures and an eerie use of lighting that will make you feel uneasy
while playing.

The
plot of Cognition actually builds up really well, ending in a climax
that will make you wish you could go straight into playing the next
installment of the series. While its characters are, for the moment
anyway, paper thin and some of the puzzles a bit illogical, the
incredible art, decent plot and cognitive powers do make for an
interesting and fun adventure thriller. Roll on episode two.*****

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About Trollish Delver

Welcome to Trollish Delver, a blog mostly about roleplaying games. Trollish Delver Games is a publisher of fine tabletop products, including Romance of the Perilous Land, Tequendria, Quill, USR and In Darkest Warrens.